McGregor has a huge fan in UFC president Dana White, who proclaims that the bombastic Irishman is bigger than former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
“Conor McGregor is the real deal, he is legit,” White said on FOX Sports 1’s UFC 178 post show. “He is a force that I have never seen ever. Bigger than Brock Lesnar when he was here. Bigger than any of the fighters we’ve ever had. Yes, (he’s bigger than Georges St-Pierre). I’ve never seen anything like this.”
McGregor was the biggest name on UFC 178, with White claiming that 10 percent of the tickets for the show were sold to people from Ireland and the success of the show all goes to McGregor.
“Was a nation behind GSP when GSP started?” White asked. “Let me tell you this. We’re way over (projections for UFC 178). The numbers, Lorenzo and I were talking about it, and we contribute it all to Conor McGregor.”
Steven Muehlhausen is an experienced MMA writer and contributor for Sporting News. Find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA.
